Yarn carrier for full fashioned knitting machines



April 5, 1955 A. FRIEDMANN ETAL 2,705,409

YARN CARRIER FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 3, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l A TTORNEYS April 1955 A. FRIEDMANN ET AL 09 YARN CARRIER FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 3, 1954 2 ShEELs-Sheet 2 Na .9.

INVENTORS.

W6 rl'eil E. Sill/Wei,

ATTORNEYS.

A76 .9 rZ" Friedman/1 &.

United States Patent YARN CARRIER FOR FULL FASHIONED KNITTING MACHINES Albert Friedmann, Reading, and Warren E. Stufllet, Shillington, Pa., assignors to Karl Lieberknecht, Inc., Reading, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application February 3, 1954, Serial No. 407,835

7 Claims. (Cl. 66-126) This invention relates to yarn carriers for knitting machines. More specifically, it relates to yarn carriers of the reciprocating, fiat finger type used in straight knitting machines for producing full fashioned hosiery blanks or the like and having yarn guide tubes at their lower ends to lay the yarn across the sinkers incident to knitting.

In yarn carriers of the reciprocating type, the guide tubes are generally rigidly secured to the distal ends thereof. With such construction, if a sinker, divider, or some other part of the knitting machine should accidentally be thrust into the path of travel of the tube, a smash up will occur resulting in extensive and costly damage to the machine.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a yarn carrier having a yarn guide tube mounted in the distal end thereof and adapted to yield, upon impact with any obstruction in its path of travel, and to swing away from said obstruction, thereby avoiding a smash up.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a yarn carrier of the character described wherein the yarn guide tube is yieldingly mounted in the distal end thereof.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a yarn carrier of the character described wherein the yarn guide tube is readily replaceable without disassembly of the carrier from the machine.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the following detailed description of the attached drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a view, in front elevation, of a yarn carrier embodying our invention.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view, in front elevation, of the distal end of the carrier.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side view of the carrier as seen from the right side of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an end view of the carrier as seen from the lower end of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a view like Fig. 2, but having the yarn guide tube swung slightly to the right of the longitudinal axis of the carrier.

Fig. 6 is a side view of the carrier as seen from the right side of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a view like Fig. 5, but having the yarn guide tube swung further to the right of the longitudinal axis of the carrier.

Fig. 8 is a side view of the carrier as seen from the right side of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the distal end of the carrier with the yarn guide tube and spring clip removed.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the yarn guide tube.

As herein shown, our improved yarn carrier has the usual form of a fiat finger 1 with a rectangular head portion 2 at the top end thereof. symmetrically disposed in the head 2 are downwardly extending notches 3 for passage of the shanks of cap screws (not illustrated) by which the carrier is securable to a carrier rod of a knitting machine of the straight bar or Cotton type in a well known manner.

Centrally of the head 2 there is provided an upper yarn guide tube 5 from which a narrow yarn directing channel 6 extends downwardly along the longitudinal axis of finger 1. Channel 6 is bridged substantially midway of its length by a staple 7 and terminates at the top of an elongate round ended opening 11. As shown in Fig. 9, a round bottomed opening 10, adjacent to the distal end of finger 1, is in communication with opening 11 through a narrow yarn clearing interval 12. The top of opening 10 comprises two separated, substantially fiat, stop surfaces 25, the purpose of which will presently be explained. In conformity with more or less common practice, the lower portion of finger 1 is gradually thinned down with lateral chamfering, as at 4, and the distal or tip end thereof is tapered downwardly, as at 8.

From a point somewhat above the lower end of the opening 11, the distal end of finger 1 is formed at the front with double recess portions 13 and 14, the portion 13 being shallower and of less extent vertically than portion 14. Recess portion 14 is bevelled oif substantially midway of its length at an easy angle, preferably of from 5 to 10 degrees to the vertical, to provide a sloping cam surface 15 for a purpose presently explained. A groove 16 of somewhat less than semi-circular cross section extends downwardly along the longitudinal axis of recess portion 14 from the bottom of the opening 10 to the end of finger 1.

Adapted to normally rest in the groove 16 is a yarn guide tube 17 which, in accordance with our invention, is tapered at its bottom end and formed adjacent said end with a circumferential groove 18. The tube 17 is held yieldingly in place in groove 16 in vertically aligned relationship, as shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, by a flexible spring clip or leaf spring 20 struck from suitably thin hard metal to correspond in shape with the distal end of finger 1. Spring 20, with its top edge abutting shoulder 27 of the upper recess 13, is made fast to the face of recess 13 by a pair of rivets 21 and is formed with a circular opening 22, the center of which is coincident with the center of the curvature of the bottom of opening 10 in the finger 1. The upper end of spring 20 is cut out at 23 coincident with interval 12 and the lower portion of opening 11 of finger 1, as shown in Fig. 2. The lower or free end of spring 20 is curved slightly at 24 on a radius having its center coincident with the center of opening 22 (and thus coincident with the center of the bottom of opening 10), and is formed with lip 26 to engage groove 18 in guide tube 17. Spring 20 is notched centrally of its lip 26 so as to assist in keeping tube 17 vertically aligned in groove .16 of finger 1.

The operation of our improved yarn carrier is as follows. With the carrier tube 17 in normal operative position (Figs. 1, 2 and 3), the spring clip 20 holds tube 17 under compression in the groove 16 of finger 1. The force in compression exerted by spring 20 is sufficient to restrain the yarn (not shown) from displacing guide tube 17 from groove 16 during normal travel of the yarn carrier. The tube 17, being wider, diametrically, than interval 12 in finger 1, is prevented from moving upward by the stop surfaces 25 of opening 10.

In the event the carrier tube 17 should accidentally strike a sinker (or some other part of the knitting machine) during its course of travel, the force of the impact, combined with the action of cam 15, will cause tube 17 to be lifted out of groove 16 and displaced away from the direction of carrier travel, in the manner shown in Figs. 5 and 6. In being thus displaced, guide tube 17 actually is swiveled obliquely to the longitudinal axis of finger 1, sliding over cam 15 along a path determined by the interaction of stop surface 25 and the slope of cam 15, in the manner shown in Fig. 6. Tube 17 is prevented from downward axial displacement by the engagement of lip 26 in groove 18.

As the yarn carrier continues in its travel across the machine, the tube 17, still being in contact with the sinker or other obstruction, is further swiveled relative to the vertical axis of finger 1, in the manner shown in Figs. 7 and 8, until it is free of such obstruction. When the tube 17 is thus further swiveled, its groove 18 is sprung free of lip 26 of the spring clip 20 and its upper end comes into contact with and moves along the periphery of opening 22 thereof. Tube 17 then slides over the flat surface of recess 14 (being held in contact therewith by the compressive force of spring 20) to clear the obstruction in its path and thereby avoid a smash I-Iaving thus described our invention, we claim: 1. A yarn carrier for a straight bar knitting machine,

said carrier comprising a fiat finger with a centrally located opening adjacent thedistal end thereof and.hav-.

ing a shallow central longitudinal groove in the frontal face thereof extending from the opening to the tip of the finger; a yarn guide tube adapted to rest normally in the groove with its upper end against the top of the opening and with its lower end extending beyond the distal end of the finger; and yielding means for maintaining the guide tube seated within the groove with capacity for being swung aside in the event it is fouled during traverse of the finger in the knitting machine.

2. A yarn carrier according to claim l, wherein the guide tube has a circumferential groove adjacent its outlet end; and wherein the yielding means is in the form of a leaf spring having one end anchored to the front face of the finger and its opposite end directed slightly inward to engage the circumferential groove of the guide tube.

3. A yarn carrier for a full fashioned knitting machine comprising a flat finger having a centrally located opening adjacent the tip end thereof, said opening being formed with a stop surface at its upper end and an arcuate curve at its lower end; a shallow central groove formed in the front of the finger and extending from the bottom of the opening to the tip end of the finger; a sloping cam surface formed on the front of the finger at the distal end thereof; a yarn guide tube adapted to rest normally in the groove with its top end adjacent to the stop surface of the opening, said tube being formed with a circumferential groove adjacent its lower end; and a leaf spring having its upper end secured to the front of the finger adjacent to the opening therein and having its bottom edge directed inwardly to engage the groove in the yarn guide tube.

4. A yarn carrier according to claim 3, wherein the leaf spring has its lower edge curved on a radius having a center coincident with the center of the curve of the lower end of the opening'in the finger and wherein the spring has a notch formed centrally of its lower end for engagement with the yarn guide tube.

5. A yarn carrier according to claim 3, wherein the cam surface is formed at an angle of between 5 and 10 degrees to the vertical axis of the finger.

6. A yarn carrier according to claim 3, where the leaf spring is formed with an aperture having its center coincident with the center of the arcuate curve at the lower end of the finger opening.

7. A yarn carrier for a full fashioned knitting machine comprising a fiat finger; a shallow longitudinal groove at the lower end of the front face of the finger; a stop surface disposed above the groove; a leaf spring anchored at its upper end on the face of the finger above thestop surface, and having its bottom edge directed inwardly; and a yarn guide tube normally lodged in the groove with its upper end bearing against the stop surface, said tube having a circumferential groove adjacent its lower end engaged by the inwardly directed bottom edge of. the spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,555,920 Curry June 5, 1951 2,569,904 Schmidt Oct. 2, 1951 2,656,693 Newton Oct. 27, 1953 

